Wooden Model Replicates Vertical Windmill

Wooden Model Replicates Vertical Windmill Retired farmer Ray Milks says that using a large windmill to produce useful energy is nothing new. In fact, he says, it began more than 130 years ago in his area around Napoli in western New York. He can verify this because his father, John, had a large, powerful vertical windmill on the farm John bought in 1940. The wooden-framed windmill, built in 1890, was 60 ft. square and 90 ft. tall, and it was the only one of its type ever built east of the Mississippi River. Milks owns a 6-ft. tall replica of the original windmill, built in the 1970s. The only other full-size version in the U.S. was built near Lincoln, Neb. Milks says his model accurately depicts the Gladden vertical wind turbine. Instead of vanes on a circular wheel attached to a horizontal shaft, the Gladden windmill had 16 large wooden vanes attached to a power cylinder 18 ft. in diameter and 14 ft. tall. The device was mounted in a 60-ft. tower. Adjustable shutters opened to direct wind into the 44-in. tall vanes, which drove a long vertical shaft. In a strong wind, the wheel would rotate at nearly 20 rpm, producing about 20 hp for the mill. “The structure had a grist mill on the main level to grind grain for cattle feed and flour for baking. Those products were elevated to an upper area for storage. A grater and press on the second level could produce 150 gal. of apple cider in one batch. Apples were harvested from numerous orchards in the area. A wood lathe and a shop for repairing farm equipment were built into the lowest level of the building. The windmill was used for nearly 40 years until a large gear failed.” Because of its unusual design, Milks says the original construction drawings for the aging mill were recreated in the early 1970s. Those plans are now stored in the National Archives, along with other documents depicting historically significant engineering and industrial projects in the United States. In 1973, the mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Milks family sold the farm, and the new owner dismantled and stored the windmill. Milks has the original grist mill and hopes someone might be interested in rebuilding the windmill. “It would be quite a tourist attraction if it was restored,” Milks says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ray Milks, Arcade Center Farm, 7298 NY-98, Arcade, N.Y 14009.

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